Samurai Love Ballad
Samurai Love Ballad Party is a social romance sim produced by Voltage, Inc. The story takes place in the Sengoku era of ancient Japan, and the characters are based on famous warlords of the time period. It is the party version of Sakura Amidst Chaos, and it is currently available on Android and iPhone. Overview Set during the Sengoku period, dating from c. 1467 – c. 1603, you were just a waitress at your family restaurant, until one day when your little brother was to be taken away as a food tester to a leader of a certain clan. Wanting to protect your brother, you run away pretending to be male and end up joining one of the clans that are currently at war. Prologue Samurai: Love Ballad Party is based on a 15th century warring period in Japan called the Sengoku Era. There are two different MCs for two different stories: The Song of Radiance, which follows the romance between an ordinary waitress and a samurai warlord, and the Song of Shadow, where the romance takes place between two shinobi (the MC being the fugitive). You are able to choose from two prologues: Radiance Prologue ''and ''Shadow Prologue. However even though there are two choices, note that when you start out the game you will only be able to play the Radiance first before being able to access the Shadow. |-|Radiance Prologue= You leave your restaurant in order to deliver an order to another, long-time, patron. Calling out that you will be back and set off, greeting neighbours as you walk down the streets of Kyoto. You hear rumours that the Lord of Owari, Nobunaga Oda, is about to start a war which results in you reminiscing about your own Father, one of the many victims of war five years ago. The warring era you live in was given the name "Sengoku", a period where many Warlords aim to unify the country under their rule. You shake yourself out of your faltering spirits and readjust your hairpin and continue on your way. Suddenly, you spot a child carrying a pinwheel dashing past you and bumping into a drunkard who immediately loses his cool. You stand there, holding your breath, as you watch in horror when the drunkard raises his hand to beat the cowering child. Thankfully someone decides to intervene, a young man in red. The other onlookers start talking and you catch that the young man who intervened was the Lord Nobunaga. When he spoke you were both in awe and fear, the drunkard was grovelling on the ground with his forehead pressed to the dirt begging for forgiveness. Instead of dealing with the problem himself, Nobunaga calls on one of his retainers: Mitsuhide. You expect to see mindless slaughter but are surprised when Mitsuhide speaks in a calm voice. He orders the equally surprised drunkard to leave the town and not appear until tomorrow, to which he agrees readily and leaves immediately still in shock. Mitsuhide returns the pinwheel to the child with a gentle smile and returns to his Lord's side. You continue on your way to deliver the food your patron and realize how busy it is compared to the other times you have been here. You ask someone and are told that a notorious Warlord is to dine, as you are lost in your thoughts a hostess asks you to help out at the restaurant. Out of obligation, you accept. A kind man wanders into the kitchen and asks if the tray you are holding is his, you give him an enthusiastic positive answer and is asked to taste test the food by the kind man. Taken aback, you reluctantly open your mouth at his prompting but is stopped by another man who is addressed as Hideyoshi. To the surprise of the kind man, Hideyoshi eats the food that you were being fed and affirms the taste before addressing the kind man as Ieyasu. You hear Hideyoshi scold Ieyasu for trying to charm you into tasting for poison. You leave the restaurant in relief. Running late in getting back, you hurry back to your restaurant only to bump into an annoyingly persistent Magistrate trying to court you. His loose tongue insults your restaurant and angers you, but he doesn't back down. Instead he grabs onto you but you are narrowly saved by your younger brother, Yahiko. His words anger the Magistrate who is ready to strike down your brother, only this time he is stopped by your childhood friend, Inuchiyo. Knowing his defeat, the magistrate slinks off. You thank Inuchiyo for saving you to which he responds for you to get a husband, you brush it aside saying that you can't leave the restaurant until Yahiko is able to take over. While conversing with him, you realize that he is going off to war again. Both Yahiko and you watch as Inuchiyo leaves, your brother's concern has you placating and thanking him for his earlier heroic act. That is when you hear that the upcoming battle would be the worst one yet. You send a prayer for Inuchiyo to return safely and is teased by your younger brother. Again, your Father comes to mind and you touch the hairpin he had gifted you before he left. Returning to the restaurant, you and your brother are greeted by your Mother and are immediately put to work to serve a regular customer. You recognize him and consider him handsome with his peculiar eyepatch. As soon as you step back, some customers start causing a ruckus of the food in front of them. Yahiko intervenes before you get the chance and the ruckus escalates. You try to stop them but your intervention only results in your beloved hairpin broken. One of the thugs raises his foot, intentionally set to breaking your hairpin further, you try to stop him but you are raised by your collar. Preparing yourself to be met with a fist, you brace yourself only to find that the one-eyed regular had apprehended all three with the blunt of his sword. Wondering who he was you proceed to block the thug's hasty exit from the restaurant. The thug is further apprehended by another young man with baby blue eyes, his attention is solely on the man with the eyepatch and refers to him as the "One-Eyed Dragon". A nearby customer exclaims that he is Masamune Date of Oshu. Masamune in turns to greet the other as Sanada. The thought of them being friends shatters as you soon figure out that the two men before you are on the opposing sides. Desperate to stop an inevitable battle between the two, you grab hold onto Sanda exclaiming that they can fight in the shop over your dead body. You apologize for being rude when you ascertain that a fight would not break out. With the help of the customers, you begin to clean up but the only thing that you are able to see is the broken hairpin on the floor. With a heavy heart you excuse yourself from the restaurant, clutching the broken hairpin. You head towards the riverbed, crying. A familiar man interrupts your woes, giving you sound advice. Your Mother calls out to you, relieved that she has found you, asking you to return. Before leaving, you turn towards the man and ask if he is Lord Nobunaga Oda to which he gives a retort telling you to go. Still confused your Mother breaks to you the news that the previous thugs have returned and have brought the Magistrate with them. To your horror it is the very same Magistrate that has been trying to court you and soon he announces that the restaurant would be closed down. However he presents one condition to keep the restaurant open and that is for your brother, Yahiko, to become a poison taster. Recalling Nobunaga's words by the riverbed, you steel your resolve in taking your brother's place. Without sleeping you bind your chest and dressing yourself in mens clothes you leave the restaurant, getting into the back of the awaiting wagon you watch as the only town you've ever known become smaller and smaller. |-|Shadow Prologue= You are in the midst of a burning village, your clan's hidden village, struggling to survive an attack of an enemy, the only thought keeping you on your feet are the words: "The fate of our clan rests in your hands...". You make a run for it only to be stopped by another villain diminishing your hope of survival. However luck is on your side as your attacker suddenly falls lifelessly onto the ground, the man behind him is someone you know well: Sakuya Fujibayashi, a friend you had back in your hometown Iga. His cold tone sends you back in time before the tragedy had befallen your ruined hidden village... Ten years from today marks the day you have left Iga and the day your Mother had passed on. You reminisce as you stand in front of the makeshift grave with your Father, looking around the peaceful village. You never thought that you would ever see the day when you and your people would live an idyllic life... a far cry from the bounded fate of those that lived in Iga, to live in the shadows from the first time you drew breath to the last. Your clan, the Mitsuba clan, is a clan that dabbled in poisons for as long as history can tell. They are experts in their use of poisons in the art of assassination, however ten years ago when you and your clan had left Iga your clan's goal had been revised to saving as many lives rather than taking them away. It was only a few years ago when your clan had finally reached an era peace under the protection of Lord Nobunaga Oda in exchange for your clan's secret elixir called the Dragon's Tears that can only be created by your Father and yourself. Accompanied by your Father, you both head down into the village and meet with Kaede, another member of the Mitsuba clan, and her animal companion Futaro, a flying squirrel. She asks that there is a demand to create another secret elixir and your Father mentions that there is also a need for more herbs, you agree to go look for them and create the elixir. Making your way through the forest in search for the familiar herbs you need you become highly alert of another presence and come to a stop. Cautiously scanning your surroundings your hand tighten around your kunai yet you cannot see anyone. Letting out a breath you resume your search only to be interrupted by a man with long silver hair, no doubt that he is a ninja. His unforeseen movement only adds to your judgement when you feel a cold sting near your throat, your worst fears are proven true when the man before you confirms that he is a shinobi of Iga. He introduces himself as Hanzo Hattori. The safety of your village on the line, you reluctantly hear him out. With each word that comes out from his mouth your fear that your secret elixir is already out and simultaneously sewing in doubt of your protector, Lord Nobunaga, into the depths of your heart. Carrying these doubts and worry for your Father, you are forced to follow Hanzo under the guise of a healer walking through Kiyosu all the while planning for your chance to escape. Your hopes are dashed when Hanzo speaks again. You hadn't gotten far when you both are stopped by another masculine voice, this time it belonged to a man with an eyepatch who Hanzo referred to as Lord Date of Oshu. You are surprised that the Lord Masamune Date would be here and to know of Hanzo personally. Despite your initial shock, you play along with Hanzo's script of you being an apprentice healer. For a moment you don't know what will happen when Lord Masamune asks for Hanzo to return with him to Oshu, but as if it luck were shining upon you, Hanzo agrees telling you that he will come back later for you. Lord Masamune Date whispers words of reassurance to your bemusement. However he has already left your side leaving you to your thoughts, strangely his whisper felt familiar to you. Shaking the thought aside, you head back to your village but stop when Hanzo's words cause you to take a detour to Kiyosu castle. Masquerading as a healer in search of employment you offer the wounded Lord an ointment you offer your services only to be declined. This, however, brings you short relief of his loyalty to your clan when he says that he only needs one person under his employ. You head home, with thoughts clouding your mind on your recent encounter with the Lord, in great speed only to see another man standing by your village's entrance. A hawk on one of his broad shoulder. You immediately hide yourself, your hand wrapping around your kunai. But the man calls out, sensing your presence, moving towards your area. Noticing the scar above his eye you realize that he is in fact your hero and first love, Sasuke Sarutobi. He offers you refuge under Lord Shingen Takeda in trade for quitting service under Lord Nobunaga. Another man in shinobi uniform appears beside Sasuke to ask for his return and you find out that the assassin that had injured Lord Nobunaga had been him. Finally returning to your village you call for a clan gathering explaining everything that had happened to you when you had gone out earlier that day. Unanimously the group agrees that they will have to decide again on who to serve with the Dragon's Tears being the ultimatum. With that the council comes to a close and later you wake up to your village being raided. You have no choice but to separate from your Father... Back to the present you are faced with Sakuya who states that Lord Nobunaga has ordered him to collect her. You argue that you can't abandon your village and Sakuya grabs your arm. Kaede intervenes and Sakuya leaves with a word of his return. Daybreak greets the morning ruins of the village that you have stayed in with a great number of sacrifices. Your Father's arms being one of the many that tops list, creating the Dragon's Tears is no longer able for him. With you being the village's only hope, you steel yourself in your decision. The Characters |-|Main Characters: Radiance= Nobunaga Oda Mitsuhide Akechi Yukimura Sanada Saizo Kirigakure Masamune Date Kojuro Katakura Hideyoshi Toyotomi Toshiie Maeda Ieyasu Tokugawa Mitsunari Ishida Kenshin Uesugi Shingen Takeda Shigezane Date |-|Main Characters: Shadow= Coming soon... |-|Minor Characters= Available Stories Note: Characters/titles in bold are only available in the Japanese app and have yet to be translated. |-|Main Story= *Oda Nobunaga *Akechi Mitsuhide *Sanada Yukimura *Kirigakura Saizo *Date Masamune *Katakura Kojuro *Toyotomi Hideyoshi *Maeda Toshiie *Tokugawa Ieyasu *Mitsunari Ishida *Uesugi Kenshin *Takeda Shingen *Shigezane Date *Sarutobi Sasuke *Fujibayashi Sakuya Trivia *This party app features most of the characters in its paid version, Sakura Amidst Chaos. However, many of the characters underwent extensive redesign in their appearance and clothing, most notably Nobunaga, Ieyasu, Shingen, Saizo, and Mitsuhide. *It is the second party version of a novel that does not follow it parent game's name. The other being Sleepless Cinderella Party (the original was called Seduced in the Sleepless City). *The main characters are designed by Itaru while the minor characters and the swords are designed by hiramayu. *On April 15, 2018, the app underwent some changes to incorporate the addition of new characters from the ninja clans. **This had also changed the "Cooking Skill" to "Train Skill". Category:Party Category:Samurai Love Ballad Category:Oda Nobunaga Category:Sanada Yukimura Category:Akechi Mitsuhide Category:Date Masamune Category:Kirigakure Saizou Category:Katakura Kojuro Category:Maeda Toshiie